TWO INGREDIENT MARINADE FOR PORK, CHICKEN, FISH OR VEGETABLES
If you are short on time, and don’t have much time or energy to get food on the table, then this recipe is for you. You just combine two ingredients in equal parts: soy sauce and maple syrup. The only essential thing to remember about this is that the soy sauce needs to be low-sodium and the maple syrup must be real maple syrup, not pancake syrup. The combination is too salty with regular soy sauce and too sweet with pancake syrup.
I have occasionally added ginger, garlic and/or red pepper flakes to perk it up a bit. But I have to admit, I most frequently just use the two ingredients alone. I think I might even try this with Ponzu, instead of low sodium soy sauce, and will add an update when I do so.
This sauce is good to add to vegetables, especially broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and root vegetables. Cook the vegetables any way you like, roast, sauté, boil, steam and then toss the with the sauce. If you add the sauce too soon, it may burn. So it is a good idea to wait until the veggies are cooked, before coating them with the sauce. Children may even eat their vegetables when served like this!
A DIFFERENT APPROACH FOR PROTEIN
The cooking method is different when using this as a marinade for protein. Trim the fish, chicken, or meat, and pour the marinade over for as little as 30 minutes or as long as overnight. Drain the marinade and bake, broil, sauté, or grill the meat as per usual. I adjust the heat (lower the broiler, raise the grill) or cover with foil as needed to refrain from burning the sugary marinade.
I have not yet tried this with tofu, but I do think it would be good. Maybe with vegetables, ginger and red pepper, as part of a stir fry.
But there is a caveat to mention here: just use this with one part of the meal. I have found that if I serve both vegetables and meat at the same time with this sauce, the meal is too sweet. I think whatever is sauced needs to be paired with a simple, savory, or salty “partner” to keep the flavors balanced.
TWO INGREDIENT SAUCE/MARINADE
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- Optional add-ins:
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Combine all ingredients. Marinade chicken, fish, or pork and cook as usual. Or pour the sauce over cooked vegetables.
Anne – do you think it would work to substitute Coconut Aminos for the soy sauce?
Absolutely. For those who are unfamiliar with it, coconut aminos is similar to soy sauce, but made from fermented coconut sap and sea salt. I have used it in place of soy sauce when I found I was out of soy sauce. It does cost a bit more than soy sauce, but tastes quite similar–with no coconut taste. It is has a touch of sweetness that soy sauce does not have, so you might need to adjust the proportions slightly.